One Day
by Dr.Indigo
Summary: It is said that one day makes all the difference. That a single day can change your entire world. Unfortunately, as one kunoichi will soon learn, this is one-hundred percent true.
1. Prologue: Ibiki & Junichiro

Hello everybody! It's me, the incomparable Dr. Indigo! That's right, I'm back and I'm here to present you all with the first chapter of my brand new story: One Day. Now, for those of you who don't know, I'm the mastermind behind the popular long-running Legend of Korra / Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes crossover story: Lost Girl. However, after working on that story for almost two years, I finally lost my passion for it and official canceled it. Fortunately for all of you, I have decided to start working on an entire new multi-chapter fic; namely this one. So without any further delay, **on with the show!** P.S. Naruto and all its characters are the property of Shonen Jump. Believe me, if I owned this series NaruIno and HinaCho would be canon.

Prologue: Ibiki & Junichiro.

Konoha…

The Village Hidden in the Leaves.

One of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the crown jewel of the Land of Fire.

Throughout recorded history this pseudo-military enclave has produced some of the finest examples of ninja the world has ever seen. Indeed, it is a place that any self-respecting individual, shinobi or otherwise, would be proud to call their home.

Unfortunately, today was not a day for anyone in Konoha to be prideful. For today a heinous crime had been committed against the village. And to make matters worse, it had been committed by one of their own.

XXX

Deep within the ivory-colored structure that was the Konohagakure Intelligence Division Main Building, the head of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force, Ibiki Morino, stood leaning against the wall of an empty corridor; his arms crossed and his face a mask of seething irritation.

'How did she do it?' he asked himself for what felt like the millionth time that day 'How the hell did that scrawny little brat do it?'

"Sir," said an unfamiliar from nowhere. "Sir, are you alright?"

It was at this moment that Ibiki realized that he wasn't quite as alone as he thought. Standing directly in front of him was a tall cerulean-haired chunin with five o'clock shadow and a crescent-shaped scar on his left cheek. The older Jonin wasn't sure why, but he felt like he should know this man.

"Sir," the blue-haired shinobi said again, this time a little more insistently. "I said, are you alright?"

"What? Oh right… sorry." Ibiki said politely. "My mind was elsewhere. Do I know you?"

"No Sir, at least not personally," The other man answered respectfully. "My name is Junichiro Koizumi. I'm from the Military Police Force. The Hokage said you asked for me specifically."

"Right… again sorry, things have been a little crazy around here today."

"So I've been told."

"Yeah…" Ibiki said while scratching the back of his head. "Junichiro, come and walk with me."

Without another word, the older Jonin peeled himself off the wall and began a torpid stroll down the lonely corridor. Not being one to refuse such an innocent request, the younger chunin joined him and soon the two were walking side by side.

"Sir, I was just…"

"No need to stand on formality. Just call me Ibiki."

"Oh… um… okay, uh… Ibiki," said Junichiro, sounding more than a little nervous. "I was just wondering why you asked me to come here. I mean, our two groups don't usually collaborate like this unless there's some kind of emergency. The village isn't in danger is it?"

"Easy now," said Ibiki reassuringly. "There's no need to panic until we've gotten all the facts. Now to answer your first question, I've called you here because your file says you've got a real talent for electrical based jutsu; specifically ones that induce overwhelming pain in your opponents. Is that right?"

"Yeah, I know a few techniques like that, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"It's… complicated." said Ibiki with an exasperated sigh. "But the short version is I need your help interrogating a new prisoner."

Now this really caught the younger chunin off-guard. In all of his years as a shinobi he had never once heard of the infamous Ibiki Morino ever asking anyone for help; especially when it came to his forte. Needless to say, Junichiro's mind was suddenly overflowing with questions. However, the one that came to the surface first was not the one he'd intended.

"What new prisoner?" he asked, almost accidentally. "I don't remember hearing about this back at HQ."

"No, you wouldn't have. The Hokage doesn't want there to be a panic, so we're trying to keep this whole thing as quiet as possible."

"And… what exactly does the Hokage want to keep quiet?"

"It's… complicated…" Ibiki said with a sigh; pausing briefly before he continued. "Tell me Junichiro; are you familiar with the Legend of the Phoenix Scroll?"

"I can't say that I am Si… uh, I mean Ibiki."

"I expected as much. It's an old story and one that the Council would much prefer be forgotten." The older Jonin paused only a moment to cough before he continued. "Anyway, according to this legend, shortly after this village was founded, a giant pillar of fire came down from the sky and crashed into the woods just to the east." He paused again, this time to let his young associate absorb his words. "But when the shinobi at the time went to investigate all they found was a gigantic patch of scorched earth and an old man at dead center."

"An old man?"

"Yeah, according to legend he looked about a hundred, and he had six poison-tipped arrows sticking out of his back."

"Damn…"

"My thoughts exactly, but it doesn't end there. Out of nowhere the old man suddenly shot up; shrieking and cursing at the top of his voice. He demanded to speak with the First Hokage immediately."

"Well, what did they do?"

"According to the legend, they brought him straight to the First Hokage's tent and then left him there for some kind of secret meeting."

"But that makes no sense, why would the shinobi just leave they're Hokage alone with some stranger who just fell out of the sky?"

"Not sure, the legend never really explained that bit, but what it does say is that when the shinobi went to make sure he was alright the old man was dead and the Hokage was holding a large red scroll with a golden phoenix for a seal."

"And that scroll became known as the Phoenix Scroll?"

"Correct, and while I can't vouch for the rest of the story, I can assure that scroll itself is quite real."

"Are you serious?"

"Deathly, and that's precisely why I've called you here. At some point in the last forty-eight hours, the Phoenix Scroll was stolen."

Once again Junichiro was completely floored. More and more this whole thing was starting to sound like the plot of a cheesy film serial. Still, Ibiki was expecting a response, so he uttered the first thing that came to mind as eloquently as possible.

"Stolen? But how? When? Why? I mean… what does the scroll even do?"

"No one knows. Whether or not the part about the old man is true, the fact remains that somehow that scroll fell into the hands of the First Hokage and in his wisdom he decreed that no one, under any circumstance, was ever allowed to open it or attempt to use the jutsu it contained."

"Wow… I mean… just wow! So, someone just broke into the village and stole a scroll without even knowing what it would do? That's crazy!"

"And it only gets crazier from there."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for the past few generations, the scroll was kept in a top secret vault hidden with the Hokage's Tower. Unknowingly guarded by some of the finest ninja this village has to offer."

"So?"

"So… in the last forty-eight hours no guards have reported anything even remotely suspicious within five kilometers of the Hokage Tower; no alarms were set off, the security cameras didn't pick up anything unusual, there's no sign of forced entry or tempering, no evidence of any known genjutsu, and as far as we can tell that vault door hasn't been opened since the tower was fumigated last spring."

"Then how did the thief do it?"

"That is exactly what you and I are going to find out."

"You mean…"

"That's right, we've got the little bitch locked up in an interrogation room right at the end of this hall." The older Jonin said proudly as the two men rounded the corner. "Unfortunately so far she's proven resistant to even my most intense psychological techniques. She just keeps spouting a bunch of nonsense; trying to convince me that she's crazy so I'll let her go. However, I think a combination of physical and mental agony might be enough to loosen her tongue."

"I see…" Junichiro said inquisitively. "No offense Ibiki, but are you absolutely sure that this woman isn't genuinely insane. I mean, perhaps the stress of such a complex heist caused her to suffer a mental break."

"No offense to you Junichiro, but I'm a professional. I've been at this long enough to be able to tell the difference between the ones that have really cracked and the ones that just want a comfy bed in the hospital." The older Jonin explained, sounding slightly insulted. "Believe me, this one's sane. A little sleep deprived and a bit hysterical, but perfectly sane nonetheless."

"I see… tell me something Ibiki. If there was no sign of a break-in, how did anyone know the scroll had been stolen?"

"Dumb luck," the older Jonin said with a snort. "It seems the thief was stupid enough to try and use the scroll's jutsu herself. Lucky for us her curiosity got the best of her before she could get over the border and that there were three chunin in the area to see the explosion."

"But wait, if no one knew the scroll was stolen, why did they bring the thief back to the village?"

"Because they recognized her."

"Huh?"

"Apparently the thief is a former villager who disappeared over three years ago."

"A Missing-Nin?"

"Not exactly. It seems she attended the academy along with the three chunin that found her. Unfortunately when she failed to graduate with the rest of the class she took it pretty hard and ran off."

"And in three years they never found?"

"Are you kidding? Nobody even bothered to look."

"Why?"

"Well… she didn't belong to any prominent clan, she had no Kekkei Genkai or sensitive information. The sad truth is she was nobody. A search would've been a waste. Hell, I'd never even heard of her until yesterday."

"Wow…" Junichiro muttered in a soft, melancholy tone, before he quickly remembered he had a job to do. "But wait, if she never even graduated the academy then how the hell could she have pulled off such a perfect heist?"

"Hopefully you and I are about to find out." Ibiki said as he finally came to a halt. "We're here."

With their conversation apparently over, the younger chunin suddenly realized that they were standing directly in front of a large steel plated, blast-proof door with reinforced steel hinges and an absurdly complex looking electronic lock.

"So… she's in there?"

"That's right. Now if you don't mind, I need to input the code, so…"

"Oh, of course, sorry." The younger chunin said respectfully as he averted his gaze so his colleague could unlock the large imposing door.

A few seconds later Junichiro heard a strange hiss, followed by a loud metallic groan. Taking this as hint, he turned his head back and, lo and behold, the door was open.

"After you." said Ibiki politely as he held the door open for his young friend and gestured for him to enter.

Not wanting to seem rude, the younger chunin just nodded and did as instructed.

Upon entering the dark and windowless room, Junichiro had to force himself not to gasp in shock. There, in the center of the room, with her arms, legs, chest, and forehead tied down to a large metal chair with leather straps, was the thief. And she was… so _young_.

He knew she would be, based on what Ibiki had told, but still, she looked like she had just turned sixteen. Her clothes were all torn and dirty, and covered with what appeared to be claw marks. Nearly every inch of her bare skin was either cut, bruised, or stained with blood. Her short pink hair was all frazzled and caked with mud and her left eye was completely swollen shut. In short, she looked like she's just gone up against an entire battalion of Jonin.

'What the hell have they been doing to her?'

Before the younger chunin could ask this question aloud, Ibiki slammed the door shut; seemingly trapping the three of them in that dark den of torment.

"Make sure you have one of your special jutsus ready. This one's a little lively, if you know what I mean." The older jonin whispered to his cohort before turning his attention toward his pink-haired captive. "So little missy, you ready to tell me how you got into the vault and stole that scroll?"

"This… this is all wrong… you have to… have to listen… to me…" the bound girl said with labored breath. "I didn't… I didn't steal… anything…"

"Uh-huh, sure you didn't." said Ibiki mockingly. "You just happened to find it lying on the ground right?"

"No… my team and I… we were on a mission… it was a secret mission… to get the scroll back… just ask Lady Tsunade… she'll tell you everything…"

"Lady Tsunade's been dead for two years, pinky!" the older jonin said harshly as he grabbed her by the hair and forced her to look him in the eyes. "So unless you've got a secret talent for channeling ghosts I suggest you cut the crap and start giving me some strait answers!"

"Dead… what are you talking about?" the young girl said weakly. "I just saw her… yesterday with my tea-AAAHHH!"

Upon receiving the signal from Ibiki, Junichiro produced to stimulate the young girl's pain receptors with one of his special jutsus. For about five minutes he watched her scream in unadulterated agony. He wanted to stop, but he knew he had a job to do so he just powered through it. Needless to say, he was very much relieved when the older jonin gave him the sign to back off.

"Alright then, no more games." said Ibiki to the captive as threateningly as possible. "This is your last chance Ms. Haruno. Now tell me, where have you been for the last three years and how the _hell_ did a washout like _you_ steal that _scroll_?"

End Notes: And so ends the prologue of what I hope will be an extremely popular story. I just want to thank all of you good people for reading and please don't forget to leave a comment before you leave. Also, I any of you out there were fans of Lost Girl please give me a shout out. Laters!


	2. Chapter 1: The Heist

Well hello my faithful followers! Once again it is I, the incomparable Dr. Indigo and the time has come for the first official chapter of my new fic. However, before we can get to the good stuff there are a couple of things I need to address first. 1. This fic will be divided into two parts; the setup and the main story. This is the first chapter of the setup and don't worry, I will try to get to the main story as quickly as I can. 2. Naruto is the property of Shonen Jump, I own absolutely nothing save for my OCs. 3. There is no 3. Now enough of this jib jab. **On with the show!**

Chapter 1: The Heist.

Konoha…

(42 Hours Ago)

It was early evening in the Hidden Leaf Village. That special time of day that some liked to call the _Magic Hour_. Not quite dark enough for the street lights to come on, but just late enough for all the little family-owned shops to close down for the night. Yes, this was the ideal time for romantic dinners, relaxing sunset strolls, and even the occasional _burglary_.

XXX

Deep within the large and luxurious fortress that was the Hokage's Tower, on the third floor to be precise, two young ninja stood guard over a large pair of ornate, solid oak doors.

On the left side stood a tall thin, almost scarecrow-like shinobi, with long straw-colored hair and dark hazel eyes. While on the right side stood his polar opposite; a short plump, almost marshmallow-like kunoichi, with short chocolate-colored hair and light blue eyes. Their names were Susu and Momo respectively, and at the moment they were both completely bored out of their skulls.

"Uh… this _sucks_!" groaned Susu immaturely. "How much longer do we have to keep standing here like idiots?"

"Just two more hours," replied Momo, sounding more than a little aggravated. "Now stop whining. You're a ninja for God's sake, try acting like one."

"Well _excuse _me Porky," said the straw-haired scarecrow condescendingly. "But I didn't become a shinobi just so I could guard a bunch of dusty old books."

"_**Porky!**_" the plus-sized kunoichi shouted venomously. "This is pure muscle, you scrawny little turd!"

"Muscles don't jiggle, you tiny little monster!"

"Stick Boy!"

"Dwarf Hippo Bitch!"

Fortunately, before this shouting match could escalate any further, they were cut off by the unmistakable whine of the Tower's fire alarm. However, what really had the two ninja covering their ears was the accompaniment of an even more high-pitched and irritating noise.

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The shriek echoed off the walls and inside their heads. It was all they could do to keep their ears from bleeding. However, after a few minutes of agony, the wails were quickly replaced by words.

"HELP~ OH HELP! PLEASE SOMEONE! IT'S TERRIBLE! JUST TERRIBLE!" the mysterious shrieker said in an irritatingly loud voice. "LADY TSUNADE'S IN DANGER! OH GOODNESS GRACIOUS SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!"

It was at this point that the owner of the voice, quickly identified as the Hokage's attendant Shizune, reached the two ninja bystanders.

"Lady Shizune, what's the matter?" asked Momo respectfully.

"And please try to answer without screaming." added Susu thoughtlessly.

Fortunately, the young attendant was far too hysterical to notice his rude comment, so once she managed to stop crying she explained everything.

"Oh it's awful, just awful! Someone started a fire in Lady Tsunade's Office and now she's trapped!" Shizune said, sounding slightly less erratic. "Please you have to hurry! There's not much time!"

"Not to worry my Lady." Said Momo as her brain shifted into full Leaf Ninja Mode. "Just wait right here and we'll take care of everything."

"Yeah, what she said." added Susu, in a feeble attempt to sound professional. Then without another word, the two of them darted down the hall as quick as lightning; leaving the young attendant all alone in the empty hallway.

For a few moments she just stood there, seemingly still shaken from her harrowing ordeal. Then, almost as if someone flipped a switch, she straightened up, wiped away her tears, and let out a hardy chuckle.

"Holy Crap, I must be dreaming." said _Shizune_ in a bizarrely masculine voice. "It can't be this _easy_!"

"Don't get too cocky," said another, slightly less masculine voice from out of the shadows. "You haven't found the scroll yet, and it won't take long for those fools to realize your deception."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Taiyo," replied _Shizune_ arrogantly. "You just worry about covering our escape and leave the thievery to the Master."

Without waiting for a response, the young _woman _flung open the twin oak doors and walked right into the dark and dusty room with a cheeky grin spread across _her _lips.

"Now then, if I were a pretty little birdy, where would I be?"

XXX

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's Office…

"Uhg… How much longer is this gonna take?" groaned Lady Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, for what felt like the thousandth time.

"It will take as long as it takes, my Lady." said the scruffy, black-haired custodian currently standing on her desk and fiddling with something on the ceiling. "Maybe next time you'll be a little more careful when throwing away one of your cigars."

"For the umpteenth time, it wasn't mine! I don't know where that damn cigar came from! I don't even smoke!"

"Oh sure, right…" the older looking handyman said sarcastically. "Whatever you say…"

"Just shut up and get that stupid alarm turned off before I…"

However, before Tsunade could finish her idle threat, the doors to her office suddenly flew open and two seemingly random ninja charged in; yelling at the top of their lungs.

"Don't worry my Lady, help has arrived!" shouted the plump kunoichi who came in first.

"Heads up!" yelled the blonde shinobi who followed as he produced a fire extinguisher from his side and unleashed a torrent of foam all over the startled Sannin.

Unfortunately, as the two chunin quickly realized, the fire they had come to putout was nowhere to be found. In fact, the only things of any interest in that room besides themselves were a chuckling janitor and an _**extremely**_unhappy Hokage.

"Oh… this is _soooo_ not good…" said Susu sheepishly, as he attempted in vain to hide the incriminating extinguisher.

"Understatement of the _**century**_!" roared Tsunade as she wiped the foam from her face; revealing eyes filled with the fires of Hell. "What in _**God's**_ name is the _**matter**_ with you _**two**_?"

"My Lady," said Momo respectfully, in an attempt to pacify the enraged Sannin. "I know what this looks like, but I can explain…"

"Explain what?" the Hokage growled. "That you two screw-balls just got so damned tied of living that you decided to burst into _**my **_office during the _**worst **_headache of my entire life and spray me in the face with a _**fire extinguisher**_?!"

"No my Lady," Momo spoke up again, this time sounding slightly more terrified. "We were only trying to help…"

"Wait a minute…" Tsunade interrupted; now sounding more concerned than enraged. "Aren't you two supposed to be guarding my Private Research Library right now?"

"We were, Lady Hokage, but then the alarm went off and then Lady Shizune came and…"

"Did someone say my name?"

It was at this moment that their leader's semi-lovely attendant sauntered into the room; her face a mask of confusion.

"Oh thank God!" said Susu pleadingly as he turned to the youngish woman. "Ms. Shizune, if you would be so kind, _**please**_ tell Lady Tsunade that you told us to come in here to put out a fire."

For what felt like an eternity, Shizune just stood there; her face flushed with embarrassment. Thankfully after a minute or two of awkward silence she finally spoke up.

"I'm terribly sorry, but… do I know you?"

As these words exited her lips a fresh wave of confusion washed over the entire room. For the longest time no one knew what to make of this absurd situation; all of their brains worked feverishly to make sense of it all.

Fortunately, Lady Tsunade was able to put the pieces together rather quickly. Unfortunately, the picture these pieces formed was not a pleasant one.

"Oh my God…" she whispered in quiet horror before standing up. "We need to get to the library now!"

XXX

Meanwhile, back at the Hokage's Private Research Library…

"Found it~" sang the Not-Shizune in a falsely saccharin voice. A few moments later _she _came skipping out of the now ransacked study with a cheeky grin plastered on _her _face and a large, dark crimson scroll affixed to _her _back like some sort of tasteless and cumbersome knapsack.

"About damn time." replied the disembodied voice previously identified as Taiyo. "What the hell were you doing in there, baking a cake?"

"Well _excuse_ me, Mr. GrouchyPants, but the Boss never said _which_ bookcase the vault was hidden behind! I had to tear down six of them before I found it!" the Not-Shizune whined defensively. "And let me tell you something Taiyo, those suckers were heavy as Shi…"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" yelled a loud, angry, and horrifyingly familiar voice from down the hall.

In a panic, the imposter attendant spun around and soon found _herself _in the crosshairs of seven _very_ unhappy shinobi.

"Not another step you pervy little Cretin!" barked Tsunade as she, Momo, Susu, the _Real _Shizune, and three members of the Hokage Guard Platoon surrounded the frightened intruder. "Drop the scroll and put your hands on the ground, unless you'd prefer to be taken to a holding cell on a stretcher!"

"H-H-Hey now Folks, let's just think about this rationally for a second." said the Imposter-Shizune nervously as _she _slowly inched _her _towards the opposite wall. "I mean, we don't to do anything we'll… NOW TAIYO! STRIKE THEM ALL DOWN NOW!"

As soon as the words left the intruder's mouth everyone in the vicinity tensed up; preparing themselves for the worst. However, a few moments passed and the worst never came.

"Uh… I said, Taiyo, strike them all down now!" the Imposter said again and again the result was the same. "Okay… I'm not kidding around here Taiyo. I seriously need you to come out _right now _and SAVE ME!"

When nothing happened for the third time the Hokage decided that she had had enough of this nonsense. With an irritated sigh she gave the signal and the others advanced. However, before they could get close enough to lay a hand on the irksome intruder a soft voice came forth from the shadows.

"As much as I'd enjoy watching you wring that little Trani's neck, I'm afraid I must intervene."

"That voice…" said Susu in hushed astonishment. "It can't be…"

However, before anyone could anyone react, a tall dishwater blond shinobi dressed in an Anbu uniform and porcelain wolf mask suddenly materialized between the intruder and the tiny mob. Then, with almost inhuman speed, this new figure ran through a series of rapid Hand Seals before letting out a mighty roar.

"**Fire Style: Supernova Jutsu!**"

End Notes: Well… that's the end of this chapter folks. Confused? Don't worry, everything will be explained in due time. But for right now please tell me what you think and follow/fav me if you think I deserve it. Until next time my faithful readers. Later.


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